Republican Presidential Debate

[StevenNick]

Due to the confusion surrounding the republican presidential debate, I've decided to take the initiative and post a thread for the candidates to outline their positions on the issues.

I'm going to ask that posting be limited to the republican presidential candidates only.  Thank you.

[John]

THANK YOU STEVEN NICK
IT IS GOOD TO BE HERE

[The Duke]

Back when I was moderator, and not a candidate, these were the topics everyone agreed to, as they appered originally, on the Republican board.

"1.) Iraq- I will ask what you would do to deal with the ongoing problems in Iraq.  How do you see the insurgency?  Is it a broad based movement?  How would you deal with them?  What would you like Iraq to look like when we are done?

2.) Social Security- Social Security is on the verge of bankruptcy, what will you do?  From you posts here, some of you already know what you want to do.  That's good, be prepared to answer questions on the topic.

3.) Education- This is another one where you guys already have some good ideas.  I will ask about vouchers.  I will ask about technology in the classroom.  I will ask about local vs. federal control and whether you support Bush's NCLB (no Child Left Behind).

4.) The Budget- We have a deficit.  Do you think this is a problem?  If so, how will you fix it?  If not, why aren't you concerned?  Will you raise taxes to cut the deficit?  That last one is important, you better have a good answer.

5.) I will ask about outsourcing.  Everyone else is, so I have to.  Is it good, bad, or a little of both?  What kind of trade policies do you support?  I will specifically ask about keeping NAFTA and China trade, so have an answer."

There they are, so we have some structure to this thing.

I'll start by talking about topic 1 in a moment.

[John]

NYM WANTS A TIME LINE TO BRING PEOPLE'S MONEY TO HIM THAT HE CAN SPEND ON HIM NOT TO PAY FOR THE GAS PRICES THAT ARE GOING DOWN BUT WHEN I AM ELECTED I WILL BRING UP THE GAS PRICES & GIVE BACK THE MONEY THAT NYM STOLE FROM THE PEOLE THATS WHAT IM GOING TO

[KEmperor]

NYM WANTS A TIME LINE TO BRING PEOPLE'S MONEY TO HIM THAT HE CAN SPEND ON HIM NOT TO PAY FOR THE GAS PRICES THAT ARE GOING DOWN BUT WHEN I AM ELECTED I WILL BRING UP THE GAS PRICES & GIVE BACK THE MONEY THAT NYM STOLE FROM THE PEOLE THATS WHAT IM GOING TO

I did not know that.  Nym you have something to account for then.

[The Duke]

In Iraq, we are losing the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.  The reason is that we have not provided the one thing they want, security.  We have not provided security because we have treated the insurgents with kid gloves.  This ceasefire that was recently put into effect is an example.  Everyday, Americans are shot and killed becasue the rules of engagement are too strict and prevent them from doing their job.

Ergo, we have failed to win hearts and minds not because we have been too strong, but because we have not been strong enough.  We need to loosen the rules of engagement in Iraq and let the troops do their job.

[John]

I JUST GOT ONE WORD FOR NYM
MAKE MY DAY

[StevenNick]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

John D. Ford outlined this position in his candidacy announcement thread.  Although I agree in philosophy with John D. Ford on this issue, I have a few problems with the way in which Ford advocates solving the Health Care problem in America.

My fear in creating a tax free Health Care IRA is that it will make the tax code even more complex.  I have a better idea--repeal the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.  In the absence of an income tax, all savings would be tax free.  There would be no need to establish special Health Care IRAs.

I completely agree with Ford's suggestion that we should cut back some of the FDA regulations to make it easier for life saving drugs to get on the market.

But here's another common sense reform that Ford didn't mention--allow people to shop for insurance from out-of-state providers.  Health care costs vary from state to state, depending on some of the regulations passed by state legislatures.  If citizens in Vermont, which has some of the highest health care costs in the nation were allowed to shop for health insurance from a less regulated state, premiums would almost certainly go down for the majority of Americans.

[KEmperor]

I JUST GOT ONE WORD FOR NYM
MAKE MY DAY

BAM!!! What you you have to say to that one word Nym?

[John]

IN THE WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN
GAYS & LESBINS ARE LIVING WITH EACH OTHER AS pRESDINT I AM GOING TO PUT A BAN ON THAT BECUSE I THINK IT TIME FOR A MAN & WOMEN TO LIVE WITH EACH OTHER I WILL DO THAT IF VOTE FOR ME

[The Duke]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

John D. Ford outlined this position in his candidacy announcement thread.  Although I agree in philosophy with John D. Ford on this issue, I have a few problems with the way in which Ford advocates solving the Health Care problem in America.

My fear in creating a tax free Health Care IRA is that it will make the tax code even more complex.  I have a better idea--repeal the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.  In the absence of an income tax, all savings would be tax free.  There would be no need to establish special Health Care IRAs.

I completely agree with Ford's suggestion that we should cut back some of the FDA regulations to make it easier for life saving drugs to get on the market.

But here's another common sense reform that Ford didn't mention--allow people to shop for insurance from out-of-state providers.  Health care costs vary from state to state, depending on some of the regulations passed by state legislatures.  If citizens in Vermont, which has some of the highest health care costs in the nation were allowed to shop for health insurance from a less regulated state, premiums would almost certainly go down for the majority of Americans.

I don't think health IRAs would make the code very complex at all, we already have exactly this provision for reitirement savings.

As for leaving out common sense reforms, it is true that I did not mention every single reform, like allowing people to buy health insurance from out of state providers.  I also didn't mention ending frivelous lawsuits, but I would certainly advocate it.  I wanted to stick to broad prinicples in my speech, and not get bogged down in details, so I didn't mention everything.

As for a national sales tax, I oppose that.  It would put too great a burden on the poor, increasing their share of the tax burden.

[StevenNick]

In Iraq, we are losing the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.  The reason is that we have not provided the one thing they want, security.  We have not provided security because we have treated the insurgents with kid gloves.  This ceasefire that was recently put into effect is an example.  Everyday, Americans are shot and killed becasue the rules of engagement are too strict and prevent them from doing their job.

Ergo, we have failed to win hearts and minds not because we have been too strong, but because we have not been strong enough.  We need to loosen the rules of engagement in Iraq and let the troops do their job.

I think there are a few mistakes we've made in Iraq.  For one thing, we never should have disbanded the Iraqi army.  The decision to disband the army created a large group or armed, angry young men with no paychecks ready to take their aggression out on the United States.  Reassembling the army would be a step in the right direction.

One problem I have with the way the occupation has run thusfar, is that we've been waiting too long for Iraqis to step up to the plate and privide leadership in the country.  I don't think we necessarily should have waited for the Iraqi governing council to write a constitution.  I think we should have had a constitution already written and ready for implementation long before a single shot was fired in the war.  In Japan and Germany, we didn't wait for grassroots movements of citizens and governing councils before deciding on a constitution.  I think we should have given them a constitution, appointed an interim government, and given the interim government full authority to plan elections for the future, build infrastruction, etc under the guidance and assistance of the U.S. military.  Eventually this will be done.  Hopefull this is how the occupation will take shape after the June 30 deadline.  We just should've had an interim government ready to be set up before we started the war.

[The Duke]

My fear in creating a tax free Health Care IRA is that it will make the tax code even more complex.  I have a better idea--repeal the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.  In the absence of an income tax, all savings would be tax free.  There would be no need to establish special Health Care IRAs.

One specific point I need to make here is that the IRA plan I propose would be a tax deduction, and you can't have a tax deduction in a sales tax only system.  Steven's plan would do nothing about the cost of care, and it would hurt the poor by raising their taxes.

[StevenNick]

As for leaving out common sense reforms, it is true that I did not mention every single reform, like allowing people to buy health insurance from out of state providers.  I also didn't mention ending frivelous lawsuits, but I would certainly advocate it.  I wanted to stick to broad prinicples in my speech, and not get bogged down in details, so I didn't mention everything.

You're right about frivolous lawsuits.  A good tort reform bill would lower malpractice insurance premiums for doctors and result in lower health care premiums for ordinary citizens as well.

[John]

I THINK GOING TO IRAO WAS A GOOD THING & WHEN I AM ELECTED I WILL REBUILD IT

[The Duke]

In Iraq, we are losing the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.  The reason is that we have not provided the one thing they want, security.  We have not provided security because we have treated the insurgents with kid gloves.  This ceasefire that was recently put into effect is an example.  Everyday, Americans are shot and killed becasue the rules of engagement are too strict and prevent them from doing their job.

Ergo, we have failed to win hearts and minds not because we have been too strong, but because we have not been strong enough.  We need to loosen the rules of engagement in Iraq and let the troops do their job.

I think there are a few mistakes we've made in Iraq.  For one thing, we never should have disbanded the Iraqi army.  The decision to disband the army created a large group or armed, angry young men with no paychecks ready to take their aggression out on the United States.  Reassembling the army would be a step in the right direction.

One problem I have with the way the occupation has run thusfar, is that we've been waiting too long for Iraqis to step up to the plate and privide leadership in the country.  I don't think we necessarily should have waited for the Iraqi governing council to write a constitution.  I think we should have had a constitution already written and ready for implementation long before a single shot was fired in the war.  In Japan and Germany, we didn't wait for grassroots movements of citizens and governing councils before deciding on a constitution.  I think we should have given them a constitution, appointed an interim government, and given the interim government full authority to plan elections for the future, build infrastruction, etc under the guidance and assistance of the U.S. military.  Eventually this will be done.  Hopefull this is how the occupation will take shape after the June 30 deadline.  We just should've had an interim government ready to be set up before we started the war.

I agree with your second point, but it isn't particularly relevant now.  A year ago, that would have been very helpful, but unless you have a plan that allows time travel you will have to address the situation as it stands now.  Saying that you'd have done it different isn't very constructive.

On your first point, I could not disagree more.  The Iraqi Army was a Ba'athist tool, and it was feared by all Iraqis.  Disbanding it was an important part of de-Ba'athification.

Lastly, I'd like to take issue with this idea tht we should blame the Iraqis for not "stepping up to the plate".  We owe a debt to those people, not the other way around.  After the way we treated them in the wake of Gulf War I, abandoning the Shi'ites, I don't blame them for being unwilling to jump head first into the fold.  We need to be responsible for the fate of Iraq (in the short run anyway, in the long run they need to learn to be a self sustaining state) and blaming the IRaqis isn't productive.

[The Duke]

Where is NixonNow?

[John]

LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING MR FORD
WHAT WILL BE YOUR MONEY PLAN

[Nation]

LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING MR FORD
WHAT WILL BE YOUR MONEY PLAN

Yeah Ford, what will be your money plan?

[KEmperor]

LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING MR FORD
WHAT WILL BE YOUR MONEY PLAN

Yes, are you against money?

[ilikeverin]

MO-NEY PLAN!  MO-NEY PLAN!

[John]

NATION YOU ARE IN THIS DEBATE

[StevenNick]

My fear in creating a tax free Health Care IRA is that it will make the tax code even more complex.  I have a better idea--repeal the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.  In the absence of an income tax, all savings would be tax free.  There would be no need to establish special Health Care IRAs.

One specific point I need to make here is that the IRA plan I propose would be a tax deduction, and you can't have a tax deduction in a sales tax only system.  Steven's plan would do nothing about the cost of care, and it would hurt the poor by raising their taxes.

Tax free IRAs wouldn't do anything to lower the cost of care either.  IRAs would only allow people a place to save money tax free to face high health care costs.

You're right about not having tax deductions in a sales tax only system.  I think our tax code is too complex.  The time for endless deductions and penalties and overpayments and paperwork should be over.  We could move to a tax system completely free of paperwork.  We could virtually disband the IRS.

As far as your charge that a national sales tax would unfairly penalize the poor, I have a suggestion to keep the sales tax from doing that.  Just like we do in my state, we could make food tax free.  The poor typically spend the majority of their incomes on food.  Making food tax free would avoid an unnecessary burden on the poor.  But here's something to consider about our current tax system--the top 50% of wage earners pay something close to 95% of the entire tax burden.  Is it entirely fair to make the top 50% pay nearly all the taxes while the "poor" can vote for candidates who support an increase in government subsidies for the "poor" at the expensive of higher taxes on the "rich"?  A sales tax would make the price higher for people who want more government programs.  Under a sales tax only system, everyone would be acutely aware of the cost of expanding government while the essentials--food--would still be tax free.

And imagine never having to do your taxes ever again.

[The Duke]

On "money plans"...

I will leave monetary policy to the Federal Reserve Board and Chairman Greenspan.  If he asks for my advice, I will gladly give it.

Generally, I believe that controlling inflation is an important goal.  We have been very prosperous over the last 25 years because we kept inflation going down in the 1980s and then kept it low in the 1990s.  Right now, we can keep rates lower than normal because inflation is so low.  I would, however, raise rates by 25 basis points if I were running the Fed, just to show that the training wheels are off and the recovery is real.  It would still leave us with lower rates tahn at almost any time since the 1950s.

Right now, the US is pursuing a policy to weaken the dollar to drive down the trade deficit.  I think we have weakened a little too much, and would direct the Treasury Department to increase the value of the dollar slightly.  Instead, to reduce the trade deficit, I would concentrate more effort on getting China to float its currency.  Right now the Yuan, or Ringbyon on foreing markets, is pegged to the dollar.  We can reduce the value of the dollar all we want, it won't make a dent in the deficit with China unless they float their currency.  To do this, we should negotiate with their trade reps, but if they are not cooperative, I am prepared to apply small tariffs on imported textiles from China until they float the Yuan.  We have the full power to do this under WTO rules without having to fear any retaliatory tariffs.  We should not be weakening the dollar any more, and instead focus on improving our trade policies.

Anything else on "Money Plans"?

[StevenNick]

Lastly, I'd like to take issue with this idea tht we should blame the Iraqis for not "stepping up to the plate".  We owe a debt to those people, not the other way around.  After the way we treated them in the wake of Gulf War I, abandoning the Shi'ites, I don't blame them for being unwilling to jump head first into the fold.  We need to be responsible for the fate of Iraq (in the short run anyway, in the long run they need to learn to be a self sustaining state) and blaming the IRaqis isn't productive.

I don't blame the Iraqi people for anything.  All I'm saying is that we were foolish to believe that Iraq would be able to put itself back together.  It is because we owe a debt to the Iraqi people that we should have taken a more aggressive position in rebuilding the country.  It's not Iraq's fault--It's our fault.